TV for Grownups

QUIZ: How Well Do You Know Famous Imaginary Places?

Posted on 04/10/2013 by Carol Kaufmann | AARP Bulletin | Comments

Entertainment | Your Life Have you ever imagined yourself skipping down the yellow brick road? Felt the Lion’s furry arm and the Tin Man’s metal one linked with yours? Heard Toto yipping? Smelled the poppies of The Emerald City? And then realized, suddenly, that Oz isn’t actually a place you can visit? Some places –products of rich, creative minds—are as real to us as our own back yards. Grab a pencil and match these classic imaginary American places with their creators. Answers at …

Don Draper Is Back But Is He Losing His Touch?

Posted on 04/7/2013 by stacyjenelsmith | AARP Blog Author | Comments

EntertainmentAt the Mad Men Season 6 premiere last month at the Director’s Guild Theater in Hollywood, Jon Hamm told reporters that the drama’s time frame for this season has parallels to today – an intriguing idea, in that Mad Men is now in 1968, arguably the most dramatic year of calamity and change in those tumultuous times. (Yes, yes – we know hyper-secretive series creator Matt Weiner wanted the year kept under wraps, but it has already been reported elsewhere.) There is certainly …

‘How to Live With Your Parents’: Boomer Humor Abounds

Posted on 04/3/2013 by Austin O'Connor | Television and Entertainment | Comments

EntertainmentHow to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) sports a title (and a mouthful of one at that) that speaks directly to many boomers whose adult children have moved back home. Premiering tonight at 9:30 p.m. on ABC in the plum post-Modern Family time slot, the new sitcom bursts out of the gate with more than a few belly laughs. It’s funny enough to make you hope it can find an audience during its spring run …

Let’s Go Shopping With ‘Mr. Selfridge’!

Posted on 03/31/2013 by stacyjenelsmith | AARP Blog Author | Comments

EntertainmentPoor Mr. Selfridge, freighted with comparisons before he even opens for business. Will the Masterpiece Classics series that debuts tonight (3/31) on PBS become the new Downton Abbey? After all, Downton’s timeslot successor is also set in Edwardian England, and comes complete with upper crust accents and cantilevered hats. Will audiences be able to accept Jeremy Piven as pioneering showman of shopping Harry Gordon Selfridge after seeing him for eight seasons as f-bomb hurling Hollywood agent Ari Gold on Entourage? Well, …

‘Game of Thrones’, a Love-Hate Affair

Posted on 03/23/2013 by stacyjenelsmith | AARP Blog Author | Comments

EntertainmentGame of Thrones, Season 3, is seven days away, and already you can hear it coming. The HBO fantasy drama series is at the center of a pop culture tornado roaring our way, swirling with action figures and bobblehead dolls, crowds of fans and photographers at its Grauman’s Chinese Theatre premiere, a couple of TV Critics awards, a Peabody and more. Distinctively, G of T can claim both a collection of prestigious honors and a worldwide cult following in 70+ countries. …

5 Reasons Not to Quit ‘DWTS’

Posted on 03/17/2013 by stacyjenelsmith | AARP Blog Author | Comments

EntertainmentWhen my daughter was a toddler, Barney the purple dinosaur was a hit. He seemed charming, at first — but years of all that gooey sweetness took a toll. By the time she was five, I started to crack, and one day, the “I Love You” song came on and I had to leave the room. Nowadays, it’s Randy Jackson’s “Yo” and that tired American Idol bit of the judges making like a contestant is going to get the axe, …